Restoration and Rehabilitation

News about Restoration and Rehabilitation, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 25, 2015

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announces completion of 'restroom rehabilitation project,' part of $90 million initiative to improve Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal; notoriously grimy second floor restrooms are now clean and modern. MORE

Feb. 12, 2015

Homeowners who plan to install their own tin ceiling panels and crown molding must be prepared--job is complicated job and requires a lot of planning. MORE

Feb. 11, 2015

Terminal Stores, warehouse complex in Manhattan's West Chelsea neighborhood, is set for revival as office-restaurant hub; complex suffered long decline following establishment of High Line elevated railway in 1934, but conversion of that railway to popular elevated park has provided influx of foot traffic, making transformation of complex possible; property is owned by Waterfront NY. MORE

Feb. 11, 2015

Smithsonian Institute announces Freer Gallery of Art will close for renovations in January 2016; improvements include updating lighting and technology and restoring some of 90-year-old gallery's original features. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

Feb. 6, 2015

The Goethe-Institut New York will reopen its headquarter on March 28. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Tarrytown Music Hall, oldest operating theater in Westchester County, is undergoing a major renovation, from window and roof repairs to new drainage system (Metropolitan/Westchester). MORE

Jan. 18, 2015

Kings Theater in Brooklyn, one of five 'Wonder Theaters' built in New York metropolitan area by Loew’s Corporation in 1929 and 1930, has been renovated and is set to reopen on Feb 3; many are hoping the refurbished theater will revitalize Flatbush and bolster plans for other theater projects. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Building Blocks column; Pier A in New York Harbor, which was shut to public for many years, is now accessible for first time in decades following restoration; site now includes the Pier A Harbor House restaurant. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Christina Salway and husband John Moskowitz have refurbished run-down farmhouse near Callicoon, NY. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

Gallery owner Hugo Martinez and pediatrician Dr Juan Tapia collaborate to renovate Manhattanville space that now serves patients and art lovers; $2.4 million project features open waiting area floor plan with relaxed seating and graffiti. MORE

Dec. 27, 2014

Yale University's $20 million renovation of entrance hall of its Gothic-style Sterling Memorial Library has revealed spectacular appearance of building when it first opened in 1930; hall, once just a passageway, has been transformed into stunning study hall. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Plan to preserve architectural history of Phoenix wll be presented to its City Council; less than $1 million is available for restoration of historic buildings, but millennial generation that has moved back to city's center is beginning to reconsider its legacy. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Richard and Pamela Marshall undertake renovation of centuries-old ruin in Montvalent, France, resplendent with towers, limestone stonework and spiral staircase; couple begins by buying home next door and creates modern minimalist interiors, project costing more than $400,000. MORE

Dec. 15, 2014

Borja Journal; residents of Borja, Spain, once aggrieved over local woman Cecilia Gimenez's botched restoration of a century-old fresco of Jesus, are now grateful for her work; earnest, though utterly failed restoration became a matter of global interest and an internet meme, and has since made town a magnet for thousands of curious tourists. MORE

Dec. 14, 2014

Many colonial-era buildings in Yangon, Myanmar, are in disrepair, prompting a preservation campaign; Thant Myint-U, head of Yangon Heritage Trust, insists conservation of the buildings would make Yangon a star attraction of Southeast Asia. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

David W Dunlap Building Blocks column evaluates 18-month, $9.2 million renovation that is nearly complete at Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center on Manhattan's West 13th Street; observes that multitude of improvements have left historic center nearly unrecognizable. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

James LaForce and Stephen Henderson undertake gut renovation when they buy their 4,000-square-foot loft in Chelsea, previously owned by photographers who had created a darkroom out of back part of apartment; couple is so happy with job they throw a party for their entire construction crew. MORE

Nov. 9, 2014

Metropolitan Museum of Art will put sculpture of Adam by Venetian Renaissance master Tullio Lombardo on display, after more than a decade of painstaking restoration; sculpture fell from pedestal in 2002, breaking into hundreds of pieces; project took so long that there were rumors that statue was beyond repair; Met will also release videos of how sculpture was put back together, relying on radical approach to conservation. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

David W Dunlap Building Blocks column examines effort by conservators at Cornell University to restore three rare 7-by-50-foot murals from Goldwater Memorial Hospital on Roosevelt Island; observes that initial challenge was to locate two of the murals, which had been painted over long ago; hospital is being torn down to make way for Cornell Tech campus. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Popularity of vintage travel trailers is growing with enthusiasts restoring or remodeling interiors for variety of uses. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Jill Bialosky and David Schwartz decided to renovate their 1,500-square-foot Upper West Side apartment in order to distract themselves when their only child went away to college; couple created a minimal, soothing oasis with dark wood floors and clean-lined built-ins. MORE

Oct. 30, 2014

Building Blocks column; Artimus Construction will undertake $14 million renovation of decrepit Corn Exchange Bank at 81 East 125th Street, once one of Harlem's most impressive buildings; former bank will open for retail and office tenants in 2015. MORE

Oct. 30, 2014

Anita Trehan has refurbished her late-19th-century Harlem brownstone for her home as well as restaurant Chaiwali, which will specialize in chai and Indian-inspired foods; Trehan's home, decorated in her interpretation of French Colonial style, is on top two floors and restaurant will be on the bottom two. MORE

Oct. 28, 2014

The Appraisal column; many New York City buildings are missing their decorative crowns, cornices and pediments due to decades of decay and neglect; developers are now adding or restoring these architectural details, claiming that such rooftop restoration work is a gift to New Yorkers who want to see architectural panache and identity returned to their neighborhoods. MORE

Oct. 23, 2014

Bill and Eva Price have renovated 170-year-old adobe home in Sonoma, Calif, to be headquarters and tasting room for their company Three Sticks Wines. MORE

Oct. 8, 2014

Zerbst Journal; German man Dirk Herrmann is leading an effort to restore castle that is childhood home of Catherine the Great in Zerbst/Anhalt, Germany; initiative is being pursued by an association of about 260 volunteers, though money remains so tight that group cannot afford to employ a tour guide. MORE

Sep. 27, 2014

Churches across New York City have been sold and reinvented as apartments, schools, stores and even nightclubs, but new owners often face landmark challenges; Central Park LLC hopes to transform First Church of Christ, Scientist, at Central Park West and 96th Street, whose exterior has a landmark designation, into a condominium. MORE

Sep. 18, 2014

David W Dunlap Building Blocks column; New York City Parks and Recreation Dept plans to disassemble, and eventually restore, 19th-century antebellum watchtower in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. MORE

Sep. 7, 2014

Several renovation projects have begun on New York-area lighthouses, though in nearly every case their rehabilitation and maintenance are being handled by people with little public funding (Metropolitan/Westchester). MORE

Aug. 28, 2014

Gail Landry restored her crumbling farmstead in Buxton, Me, into an elegantly rustic compound that she rents out as an event space. MORE

Aug. 21, 2014

Kevin Singer and Francois Richard, in their 25 years together, find joy in transforming old and often derelict homes; most recent renovation, 16 years and $400,000 in the making, was once ruins of 250-year-old house in Gers region of France; couple has decorated it with leather chairs from Paris flea markets, Art Deco tables and family heirlooms. MORE

Aug. 13, 2014

Parents of students at Public School 166 are engaged in bitter fight over New York City Parks Department's planned renovation of schoolyard playground in Upper West Side neighborhood; administrators and teacher association have long pushed for renovation, but group of parents and residents say it would destroy architectural gem and landmark of adventure-playground movement. MORE

Aug. 13, 2014

Delaware is looking for private investors to revamp and preserve historic Fort DuPont Complex, military site dating back to American Revolution. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

David W Dunlap Building Blocks column; enormous, 102-year-old Church of St Joseph in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights is rededicated, supplementing a smaller cathedral downtown; its $18.5 million renovation and redecoration is deemed extravagant by some. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

Polly Guth, 87-year-old owner of Gilded Age estate in Dublin, NH, is retrofitting home, determined to make it as energy efficient as possible, complete with field of solar panels; hopes to make property net-zero, producing as much, or more, energy than it consumes. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

Leslie Mason renovates house on Charlton Street in New York City's West Village, two doors down from where she grew up; renovation turns three-family apartment house into a single family residence, and walls are covered in white Venetian plaster to reflect the abundant light. MORE

Jul. 16, 2014

Italy, struggling with stagnant economy and crushing public debt, has been soliciting corporate and international donations to repair its historic sites and monuments; Italy once relied on government to preserve national treasures, and some historians worry that corporate involvement could lead to crass commercialization. MORE

Jul. 10, 2014

David W Dunlap Building Blocks column on conservators efforts to clean Thutmose II's Obelisk in Central Park, which was transported to New York City from Egypt in 1880; are using hand-held lasers to clean hieroglyphs darkened by decades of dirt and soot. MORE

Jul. 8, 2014

New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, originally part of 1964 World’s Fair, will receive nearly $6 million for restoration work under the new city budget. MORE

Jul. 7, 2014

Architect Gene Kaufman, partner at Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman Architects in New York City, has offered to buy and restore shuttered 1967 Goshen, NY, government building designed by Paul Rudolph; building, considered eyesore by some but hailed as example of Brutalist style by experts, was scheduled for overhaul that would renovate some sections but transform others. MORE

Jun. 30, 2014

Rusty old troop carrier known as Circle Line X may be put back to work soon, just a few blocks from Times Square; boat spent over 50 years carrying tourists on three-hour cruises around Manhattan before it was retired in 2007; its owner, New York Cruise Lines, wants to moor it at the edge of the city and turn it into a terminal and mini-museum for the customers of the Circle Line sightseeing business. MORE

Jun. 29, 2014

Locals and businesses in Cleveland have been repurposing city's historic buildings over last few years, turning them into restaurants, stores and draws for both residents and tourists. MORE

Jun. 26, 2014

Actress Melissa Leo's renovation of her 200-year-old farmhouse in Ulster County in the Catskills, where she has lived since 1990, incorporates stones and stained-glass elements; labor of love, which is created primarily by Leo herself, may take rest of her life to complete. MORE

Jun. 26, 2014

Laduree restaurant and shop in SoHo, which just underwent $600,000 renovation, features 2,600-square-foot garden oasis designed to evoke Paris. MORE

Jun. 26, 2014

Michael Schnabl and his wife Bernadette's 19th-century Bavarian farmhouse in Moorenweis, Germany, is integrated with its renovated barn to create streamlined modern space; couple worked with Munich architect Philipp Moller on radical renovation that joins two buildings and opens up interiors. MORE

Jun. 24, 2014

Citywide Monuments Conservation Program is replacing swords stolen from monumental bronze statues of two Union generals, Gouverneur Kemble Warren in Brooklyn and Josiah Porter in the Bronx; statues are among final historic markers being restored by the program, which has already restored 65. MORE

Jun. 17, 2014

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, on Fifth Avenue in New York City, is offering news media preview of nearly completed $91 million renovation of mansion that it calls home; museum, which is reopening after three years, is highlighting its role as institution that showcases importance of design in way that appeals to all kinds of visitors. MORE

Jun. 10, 2014

Study in journal Applied Physics Letters suggests that new technique using high-powered cameras to track level of light-absorbing compounds in paper may be used to save fading Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece from the early 1500s. MORE

Jun. 9, 2014

United States Open and United States Women's Open golf tournaments will be contested on North Carolina's Pinehurst No. 2 course, which has been restored to its original appearance with irregular sand and native vegetation. MORE

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge reopened shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday, despite predictions that it would take until Wednesday to repair a cracked support. ''Drivers are honking and giving thumbs up,'' read the bridge's Twitter feed as the...